Elara's POV
The council chamber was different arranged this way.
No long table of adversaries. No men shouting over each other. No clerks scribbling notes in the margins. Just the small configuration of a ceremony. Two chairs facing Corvus. A simple table with the wedding papers. A member of the Rendered standing to the side. One of Kaelen's friends. A man I had never met before. He nodded at me. I nodded back.
The old priest stood near the window. His robes were plain. His hands were steady. He had been in the palace for longer than anyone could remember. He had seen kings and queens come and go. He had married my parents. He would marry me.
Kaelen stood beside me. His hand was in mine. His hands were warm. His face was still. But his eyes were not.
I noticed small things while the priest spoke.
The way the morning light fell across the floor. Golden. Soft. It made the dust motes dance in the air.
